The Reading List: Spring 2018

Interwoven with excerpts from Rebecca West and Chekov, Nicolay expertly describes the barren soviet landscapes, his run-ins with SS-clad neo-Nazis, and what punk rock looks like in a post-communist country.

The stories are funny, the writing is sharp, and the tour provides a fascinating look behind what's left of the Iron Curtain.

The timing of when we choose to make our decisions is often just as important as those decisions themselves. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink sets out to show us the importance of being intentional with how we're tackling our most difficult tasks, and how to best prepare for the natural peaks and valleys that we all experience every day. When feels like a companion book to "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown — diving into the science behind when we ought to tackle the important stuff once we've decided what that means to us.

James Salter has done it all. And he reached literary fame while spending winters in Aspen, and writing screenplays for Robert Redford. Salter began his career as a fighter pilot in the US Air Force, then briefly worked in film before he published his first novel The Hunters and began writing full-time. His work has since appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, People, Condé Nast Traveler, the Aspen Times, and his style is deliberately short and succinct. "Once and Future Queen" is one of my personal favorite stories from this collection.